Latest News

A damaged roof, following Hurricane Melissa, brought classes to a halt leaving children who always look forward to spending Saturday mornings at the Alligator Pond Reading Centre in Manchester, without a vital learning space.

With support from the JN Foundation and JN Circle, the reading centre has been restored clearing the way for classes to resume in September.

For Omar Robinson, president of the JN Circle, getting the centre back up and running was personal. When he visited shortly after the hurricane, he saw a ceiling badly damaged by the storm.

“This was one of the first places I came to because I know how important this space is for the development of my children in literacy,” he said.

The damage was more than an inconvenience. It was a safety risk. With the ceiling compromised, Mr Robinson and the volunteers made the difficult decision to suspend classes until repairs could be completed.

“I would not want to have them in a space where the ceiling was halfway down. Safety is crucial.”

Help came through the JN Group’s ISupportJamaica Hurricane Relief Fund, which forms part of the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to help communities recover and build resilience in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

The centre was nominated through the JN Circle because of its importance to the community and the Circle’s longstanding involvement with the facility, including support with books and furniture.

Hakeem Atkinson, member relations supervisor at the JN Group, said the decision reflected the centre’s potential to create lasting impact in the community.

“The Alligator Pond Reading Centre is a space that we have supported through various initiatives over the years, and when we learned that it had been damaged, we felt it was a very deserving nominee for the grant,” he said. “We recognised that this is a place that has been and will continue to be an important part of community development, and supporting its restoration is another way we can help the community to grow.”

A big mission

Since opening in February 2025, the reading centre has steadily grown from a handful of children to approximately 30 students attending Saturday sessions by the end of the year.

The programme is deliberately structured around each child’s ability. Students complete reading assessments before being placed in groups according to their reading level, allowing volunteers to provide support without overwhelming or frustrating them.

According to Mr Robinson, the need is significant as reading remains a major challenge among children in the communities surrounding Alligator Pond, New Forest and Prospect, with the difficulty often spilling over into other areas of their schoolwork.

The centre has therefore become something of a lifeline, attracting children from neighbouring communities whose parents are willing to make the trip because there is no similar programme in that section of the parish.

“The results are beginning to show. Children who entered the programme reading at Grade One level have progressed to Grade Three and Grade Four,” he disclosed.

He highlighted Skyla Fraser, a former student of Bull Savannah Primary School and one of the centre’s standout achievers who was placed at Hampton High School.

“What makes her story particularly special is what she does after finishing her own work. She goes back to help younger children. Instead of simply completing her Saturday lesson and leaving, she moves down to the Grade One to Three group, helping students who are still finding their feet,” he related.

Mr Robinson describes her as an ambassador for the centre and a young person to watch. For him, Skyla represents exactly what the programme hopes to produce: children who not only improve academically but develop the confidence and willingness to lift others along with them.

“Her story is one of several success stories emerging from the centre, where parents and volunteers see tangible improvements in children’s reading abilities,” he said.

Mr Robinson pointed out that the work is powered largely by community spirit. JN Circle members help to operate the programme, joined by community volunteers, a teacher and parents who stay to assist rather than simply dropping off their children.

The JN Circle is a global network of JN members and customers who leverage the JN Group’s resources to serve as advocates and community change agents. With 17 chapters spanning all 14 parishes and active groups in Toronto, Canada, and London, England, the JN Circle continues to make meaningful contributions to community development.

More than 1,600 people have been killed in motorcycle-related crashes in Jamaica since 2012, and road safety advocates say a critical, preventable piece of that death toll is the substandard, uncertified helmets still making their way onto the local market.

Motorcyclists and their pillion passengers remain among the most vulnerable road users in the country, with the difference between a certified helmet and a substandard one often deciding whether a crash is survivable or not.

Since the publication of the Jamaica Helmet Standard in 2026, a framework that would regulate and monitor helmets entering the country’s ports against the international certifications and standards already outlined in the Road Traffic Act, the National Helmet Wearing Coalition (NHWC), an initiative being led by the JN Foundation in collaboration with the National Road Safety Council, has been lobbying to ensure the operationalisation of the standard at the ports.

The Cost of Inaction

The urgency is underscored by what happened, and didn’t happen, in Kenya, where a national helmet standard has existed since 2012 with little enforcement behind it.

Sam Clark, head of programmes at Transaid, the UK-based NGO that supported establishing the Kenyan Helmet Wearing Coalition, said that a recent study conducted by that Coalition found that the majority of helmets currently in use in Kenya are substandard and non-compliant, 14 years after the standard was introduced.

“In many cases, it appears as if some of the companies exporting helmets to Kenya are in effect taking advantage of Kenya’s lack of testing capacity,” he pointed out.

Jamaica faces a similar challenge, with no fully operationalised system currently in place to monitor helmets entering the island. To test this gap, the coalition sent 16 helmets acquired on  the local market to Italy for testing. All 16 were marked as certified, but the results showed that only one met the standard it claimed to meet.

Kenya does formally operate a pre-shipment verification system, requiring third-party auditors to certify helmet batches before they leave the exporting country. But Mr Clark said the proliferation of substandard helmets in Kenya indicates that this system is routinely circumvented and would benefit from strengthened market surveillance targeting helmets as they enter via Kenya’s ports as well as retailers, a warning Jamaican officials say they intend to heed rather than repeat.

Point of Entry

For Jamaica, the strategy centres on closing that same gap before it opens, screening helmets against the Jamaican Helmet Standard’s certification requirements at the point they enter the country, rather than trying to claw back non-compliant products already in circulation.

“We cannot afford to wait until a substandard helmet is already on a rider’s head to act,” emphasised Dr Wendell Richards, a regulatory expert at the National Compliance and Regulatory Authority (NCRA).

“Operationalising the Jamaican Helmet Standard means ensuring that every helmet entering our ports is assessed against the relevant international certifications and the requirements already set out in the Jamaican standard JS 374 and the NCRA, Standards and Road Traffic Acts. This is how we protect motorcyclists and pillion passengers: by stopping substandard helmets before they ever reach a rider’s head, not after.”

Referring to Jamaica’s progress in developing its own standard, Mr Clark said, in his assessment, Jamaica moved faster than Kenya did; but, he cautioned that the standard alone will not be enough without sustained enforcement and private-sector accountability behind it.

“Jamaica made some really good progress in that, and it’s been extraordinarily quick, actually, which is incredible, but as you look at Kenya… having the standard in place is the first step in a very long journey towards rider compliance,” he pointed out.

“Making sure they know exactly what’s in the standard… and translating it into something that your average person can understand is critical,” Mr Clark stressed, adding that awareness raising amongst riders is important so that the demand for genuine, certified helmets grows from the ground up.

Getting It Right

Mr Clark, who attended Jamaica’s Heads Up Regional Think Tank on helmet safety in June of 2025, said the exchange between the two coalitions has reinforced how much is riding on getting enforcement right early, rather than after a standard has already been undermined by years of unchecked importation.

With the NCRA signalling its intent to build port-level screening into its regulatory framework, and the coalition continuing capacity-building work with retailers and government stakeholders, officials on both sides of the Atlantic said the goal is the same, making sure a helmet standard is more than a document, it’s what actually protects the rider wearing it.

Photo Caption: Earl Jarrett, chief executive officer of the JN Group, speaks with participants in the Valda Mae Care Foundation’s (VMCF) NextGen Leadership Programme during their visit to the JN Group Corporate Offices in New Kingston recently. The visit was organised through a collaboration between VMCF and the JN Foundation.

Eight young Jamaican participants in the United States-based Valda Mae Care Foundation’s (VMCF) NextGen Leadership Programme gained practical exposure to leadership, business and professional development during a recent visit to the JN Group Corporate Offices, organised through a collaboration between VMCF and the JN Foundation.

The activity brought the young leaders into direct contact with executives and professionals from JN Group departments and subsidiaries, who shared knowledge on a range of areas, including communications, life insurance, legal and general counsel, corporate credit, hospitality, office administration, information technology (IT), business strategy and human resources.

The visit was designed to broaden the participants’ understanding of how different professional functions contributed to the operation of a large organisation, while giving them an opportunity to gain insight into the professional journeys of employees, which were not always straightforward. Throughout the presentations and tour of the offices they heard how career paths could evolve through unexpected opportunities, challenges, changes in direction and continued learning.

Earl Jarrett, the JN Group’s chief executive officer (CEO), in a pop-up interaction with the participants encouraged them to make use of the opportunities available to them and to view leadership as a responsibility rather than a position. The spontaneous exchange gave the young leaders a chance to engage with him in an informal setting and ask candid questions about leadership, including some of the toughest decisions he has made in his role and how leading the JN Group has shaped his perspective on other matters.

“I’m just like you; I started in the same place,” Mr. Jarrett said. “Being a leader makes you question everything. You can’t simply accept what you are given as gospel. You need to be willing to challenge everything, test it against the facts and determine whether it is accurate and appropriate as you move forward,” he advised.

The messages resonated with the participants including 12-year-old St Andrew Technical High school student, Kofi Massey, one of the youngest in the group. Kofi, who has his sights set on law enforcement, said: “I learned numerous things, including the importance of consistency and discipline. I also learned that I should keep trying. My favourite part was the tour because one of the professionals we met helped me learn more about the career I would like to pursue.”

For Cornwall College student, Joeldean William, who is approaching 19 and preparing to transition from high school to the next stage of his education, the visit provided practical insight at an important point in his development.

“It was an interesting experience because I have never been inside an institution like this before, so I learned a lot. I learned about the importance of structuring yourself to grow to achieve the career you’re interested in.”

15-year-old Kayla Buckle of St Hugh’s High also welcomed the experience noting that, “This was important for us because we are young and still becoming, so having this kind of positive influence is necessary. A lot of us had questions and they were clarified extremely well.”

She shared that her biggest takeaway from the visit came from the first presenter, Hugh Reid, general manager for JN Life Insurance Company, who reinforced that “the only constant in life is change.”

“That really resonated with me because I don’t personally handle change very well. It was important for me to understand, though, that just because something is different does not mean it is inherently bad,” she said.

The visit to the JN Group Corporate Office formed part of VMCF’s broader efforts to support youth development and leadership across the Caribbean. The US-based foundation’s work is focused on assisting the elderly and developing young people in economically disadvantaged Caribbean communities, with the NextGen Leadership Programme providing opportunities for participants to build leadership skills and gain exposure to professional environments.

Dejoron Campbell, president and founder of the VMCF, said the collaboration with the JN Foundation was intended to provide the young leaders with meaningful exposure to the realities of professional life and leadership closer to home.

“This opportunity created a space for them to acknowledge how far they can go when they see people who look like them, who have been in these different executive or senior leadership roles right there in their hometown,” she said. “I hope to create other spaces like this for other young leaders as well and to continue the partnership.”

Sydoney Preddie, lead for youth and education programmes at the JN Foundation said the collaboration reflects the JN Foundation’s ongoing commitment to supporting the development of young people across Jamaica.

“We want our young people to recognise that their aspirations do not have to be limited by what they have seen or experienced. We are proud to have supported this activity with the VMCF, exposing their NextGen leaders to different career paths and encouraging them to ask questions. We hope the experience helps them see themselves in these spaces and think more intentionally about the future they want to create,” she said.

Photo Caption: Volunteers take a group photo after completing work at DRB Grant Demonstration Basic School in  Montego Bay, St. James.

Living thousands of miles away, but never far from home, Jamaican diaspora volunteers rolled up their sleeves to help restore the DRB Grant Demonstration Basic School in Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, a learning institution still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Melissa last October.

Armed with paintbrushes, gardening tools and a deep commitment to giving back, they joined representatives from the JN Foundation and local volunteers for a Day of Service- transforming the school while sending a powerful message of solidarity to students, teachers and the wider community.

The initiative formed part of activities for the 11th Jamaica Diaspora Conference and was organised by the JN Foundation.

Among the volunteers was Jamaican-British businessman and celebrity chef Keith Valentine Graham, better known as Levi Roots, founder of the globally recognised ‘Reggae Reggae Sauce’ brand in the United Kingdom. Swapping his kitchen utensils for a paintbrush, he embraced the opportunity to contribute to the school’s restoration.

“I’m here today as a day of service because this is what service is about,” he said. “It’s about what you can do for others. So, I’m here at the basic school helping out. I’ve swapped a spatula for a paintbrush. It’s just doing my service, doing my duty, helping out as much as I can,” he shared.

The Clarendon native said the experience stirred up fond childhood memories. “I think it’s fantastic to hear the voices of the children because it brings me back to when I was a kid in school making these same sounds. It’s just really beautiful to me,” he shared. “Doing something that is out of the ordinary for me feels really good in this environment.”

The Rt Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover and the first Black woman to become a bishop in the Church of England, described the experience as both emotional and inspiring. Born and schooled in St James, she reflected on the significance of returning home to support the next generation.

“It is really a delight and a joy and a memorable moment to be here in the city of my birth, the place where I was educated, the place that nurtured me and made me who I am today,” the former Chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II and the House of Common- Britain’s parliament said.

She emphasised that every contribution, no matter how small, matters.

“Whether it’s one or two strokes of the brush, all of us have used the gifts we have. It’s wonderful seeing and hearing the children’s voices throughout the day.” Most importantly, she said, the presence of Diaspora volunteers conveyed a message that the children are not forgotten.

That sentiment was echoed by Paulette Simpson, Executive for Corporate Affairs and Public Policy for the Jamaica National Group in the United Kingdom, who commended the commitment and generosity of the volunteers who travelled from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and other countries to support the initiative.

Miss Simpson noted that the response from members of the Jamaican diaspora and international partners in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa had been overwhelming, with individuals and organisations contributing time, resources and financial support to assist affected communities.

“The outpouring of support has been truly inspiring. In the wake of Hurricane Melissa, Jamaicans and friends of Jamaica from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and beyond responded with compassion and generosity. Their willingness to volunteer, donate and give back demonstrates the strength of our global community and the deep commitment many people have to helping vulnerable families recover and rebuild,” she said.

Throughout the day, volunteers painted classrooms, refreshed outdoor spaces and engaged with students, helping to create a brighter and more welcoming environment for learning.

For Heather Wiggan Vassell, principal of the school, the Day of Service represented far more than a restoration project. It was a visible demonstration of community support at a time when the school needed it most. Reflecting on the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, she recalled the devastation left behind.

“When Hurricane Melissa came, it tore through our community. The DRB Grant Demonstration Basic School was left broken. Classrooms were damaged, learning was interrupted, and our children’s sense of safety was shaken,” she said.

The principal credited the JN Foundation’s intervention with helping the school begin the journey towards recovery.

“In that moment of loss, the JN Foundation stepped in, not just with financial support, but with hands, hearts and time on the ground,” she outlined. “Because of your physical presence, our children saw that they were not forgotten. You did not just help us rebuild a building; you helped us rebuild hope. You gave our DRB Grant family a place to learn again and our students a place to dream again.”

She said the return of volunteers through the Diaspora Day of Service reinforced the message that the school continues to have a network of supporters committed to its future.

The Diaspora Day of Service, however, was only one chapter in a broader recovery effort said Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation, emphasising that rebuilding the school will require sustained support from multiple partners.

“Today was just a small part of a very long journey that the DRB Grant Demonstration Basic School has ahead of it,” she said. “You have seen the facility, and you have seen the needs. There are urgent requirements for furniture, school supplies, playground equipment and other resources. The JN Foundation is committed to being part of that journey and ensuring that we leverage our resources to give the school what it needs.”

She noted that the initiative brought together a diverse group of supporters, including Diaspora Conference delegates, corporate partners, volunteers, educational institutions and community stakeholders, all united by a common goal.

“What progress we made today will be multiplied through the partnerships that emerge from this visit,” she said. “Through mural painting, landscaping, tree planting and other improvements, volunteers have helped to create a more welcoming and inspiring environment for the children. But more importantly, they have demonstrated what can happen when people come together in service of a community.”

The JN Foundation general manager also highlighted the significance of the school’s namesake, early childhood education pioneer Dudley R. Grant, whose legacy continues to shape learning in Jamaica and beyond.

“Dudley Grant was a visionary whose ideas about early childhood education were far ahead of his time,” she said. “More than 60 years later, the principles he championed are still being practised here. We wanted today’s restoration effort to honour that legacy and help ensure that future generations of children have the nurturing environment they need to learn, grow and thrive.”

Other local volunteer partners included The University of the West Indies and the Jamaica Customs Agency.

JN Financial Academy Continues Credit Literacy Push with Fifth Cohort of Smarter Credit Course

As gaps in credit literacy continue to limit access to financing and economic mobility for many Jamaicans, the JN Financial Academy is set to deliver the fifth cohort of its Smarter Credit Course, to help more people position themselves for greater financial stability and opportunity.

The initiative reflects JN’s broader commitment to helping Jamaicans take control of their finances and secure their financial future, particularly at a time when economic pressures are increasingly affecting households.

Rose Miller, financial education consultant with the JN Foundation, which manages the JN Financial Academy, emphasised that poor credit profiles often restrict access to opportunities such as loans, housing, education and, in some cases, even employment. She noted that the course “is designed to equip participants with the knowledge and tools to manage and improve credit, repair bad credit and sustain healthy credit, while reinforcing sound money management practices like saving and budgeting.”

She explained that the fifth iteration of the course will again deliver an impactful and engaging learning experience, with greater interactivity and updated content aligned to current financial realities. It also features the tagline, “Better Credit. Bigger Possibilities.”, reinforcing the direct link between improved financial literacy and access to an expanded range of opportunities.

“We are currently facing rising fuel and grocery prices, and as economic pressures mount, initiatives like this serve not only as educational tools but as practical interventions that can help people better adjust and manage their obligations while reducing financial stress,” Mrs Miller said.

The course combines flexible learning with structured engagement, featuring four self-paced online modules supported by quizzes and three live webinars where participants can interact directly with subject matter experts. The webinar sessions, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on June 3, June 17 and July 1, will provide opportunities for participants to ask questions, explore case studies and gain deeper insight into areas covering credit reports and debt management strategies.

Mrs Miller said the course also remains accessible, with no associated fees to participants, removing a key barrier to entry and enabling everyone to benefit from the training. This accessibility, she noted, is central to the academy’s goal of expanding financial knowledge across a wider cross-section of the population.

“Across the previous four cohorts, participants have demonstrated real transformation in how they approach credit, translating knowledge into meaningful financial progress. We are looking to expand that impact in this next cohort,” she said.

Beyond individual benefits, the initiative is also expected to have positive implications for the wider economy. Mrs Miller reiterated that improving credit literacy supports greater participation in the formal financial system.

She added that as more people become financially aware, they are better positioned to access and manage credit responsibly, which contributes to the stability and growth of the financial sector.

“Many individuals remain underserved or excluded from the formal financial system due to poor credit histories or limited understanding of how credit works,” Mrs Miller said. “Expanding credit literacy helps more people to engage in responsible borrowing and reduces risks. This will enable our people and the Jamaican economy to become even more resilient.”

Registration for the Smarter Credit Course is now open via the JN Financial Academy’s website at https://jnfinancialacademy.com. Interested individuals must complete the online registration form on the platform and follow the instructions provided to finalise enrollment. Participants will receive a certificate of completion upon successfully finishing the course.

With prices climbing, from groceries to fuel, many households are feeling the strain. Inflation, higher interest rates and general economic uncertainty have made every day budgeting more challenging than ever.

Rose Miller, financial education consultant with the JN Foundation, says the key to managing this period isn’t panicking; it’s planning.

“People can’t control inflation, interest rates or the price of fuel,” Mrs Miller says. “But what they can control is how they manage their financial resources to ensure they remain afloat.”

Her advice focuses on simple, practical steps that can help consumers reduce stress and stay financially grounded, even as economic pressure mounts.

Instead of worrying, she is encouraging households to redirect their energy towards what they can control, such as how they spend, borrow and save. Making intentional choices about these behaviours can have a meaningful impact on overall financial health.

Get Everyone on the Same Page

For households, communication is critical, she noted, “If you’re in a household, you need to have a conversation and get everyone aligned,” Mrs Miller says.  “And this is true whether there is a single or multiple incomes, but especially so for single income households.

“Everyone has to be on the same page about how money is being spent and the plan to get through this period.”

Without frank and honest discussions about the family’s finances, frustration and conflict can quickly arise, as a result of misaligned goals, behaviours and expectations, she added.

It’s Time to Revisit the Budget

“If budgeting has fallen by the wayside, now is the time to bring it back. We’re going back to the budget, and this time, we have to be very intentional,” Mrs Miller says.

That means closely examining daily spending habits, being more conscious about purchases, and paying attention to where and how money is being spent. Shopping smarter, exploring alternatives, and cutting back on non-essentials can help stretch household income further.

“Think about what you buy, where you shop, and whether there’s a more affordable option,” she advises.

And with interest rates likely to rise, Mrs Miller recommends exercising caution when it comes to new borrowing, especially for large purchases.

“This is not the time to rush into major loans if you can avoid it,” she says. “Higher interest rates mean higher monthly payments, and more pressure on the budget.”

For those already struggling under the weight of existing debt, however, there may be relief options worth considering. Mrs Miller points to debt consolidation as one possible strategy.

“If debt is already strangling your finances, consolidating could provide a lifeline,” she explains. “By extending the repayment period, you would be able to reduce your monthly payments and create some breathing room.”

Mrs Miller emphasises that financial stress doesn’t just come from money, but oftentimes from uncertainty.

“This is going to be a trying time for many people,” she says. “But with careful planning, you can reduce stress and put yourself in a better position to cope.”

Small steps taken now, adjusting spending, talking openly about finances, and managing debt responsibly can make a significant difference to our outcome.

“The goal isn’t perfection,” Mrs Miller adds. “It’s survival and stability. And with the right approach, households can navigate this period of economic uncertainty with greater confidence.”